Dream Within a Dream, Part 2

"Final Fantasy X & Mobius FF

Bolstered by a new purpose, Tidus returns to Cornelia to begin his quest to become the Warrior of Light. ★Dream Within a Dream, Episode 2★"

- In-game description

Dream Within a Dream, Part 2 or Episode 2, is the second main story chapter for the Final Fantasy X Collaboration Event. It features Tidus from Final Fantasy X returning to the Plains of Cornelia to follow the initial steps to be the Warrior of Light, while Wol keeps a watchful eye on him.

Event Details

 * First appearance: September 1 - November 30, 2018
 * Second appearance: January 8 - March 30, 2020 end of service, June 2020
 * Event type: Collaboration story region.

How to Participate

 * Select "FFX Episode 2: To Cornelia" from the world map -- branched off of the Chapter 1: Blank Slate node.
 * You must complete Dream Within a Dream, Part 1 before this region becomes available.

Story
Continued from Dream Within a Dream, Part 1 and FFX Blitzball

Tidus reflects on his sudden appearance in the world of Palamecia, similar to his sudden appearance in Spira. It's a tough road, but it seem to be the obvious choice, if not the only choice: Do as Palamecians would do... and that means to become the Warrior of Light! Tidus' eagerness amuses Wol and thrills Echo. This kid could become Vox's favorite! Except he hasn't heard a peep from Vox. How very strange.

First need is strength training, so back to the Plains of Cornelia we go!

It doesn't take long to reach the first trial there: Trial by Combat. Tidus is anxious to get moving, so he offers a competition: which of the two can bag monsters the fastest? Wol is obviously the better of the two, but it gets worrying when they find Tidus' Brotherhood sword cast aside. Wol does a bit of searching and finds Tidus is okay. He had to run from a stronger monster, and lost his sword in the process. Luckily, he found a Survival Knife to tide him over. Wol scolds him, which makes Tidus smile: the veteran is gruff, but underneath it he really cares... much like someone else Tidus knew.

The second trial comes as tests of skill... or endurance, if skill isn't enough. Tidus still shows the same eagerness, talking about how a battle is much like a Blitzball match. Watch your own team, watch the opposite team, hang back if it's too much, and strike when your advantage is best. Wol respects that, but he'll stick to his own methods. He lets Tidus lead the way. It's a close contest, but Tidus emerges on the other end first.

Wol reminds Tidus that if being the Warrior of Light is his intent, then a competition like this is just a distraction. What should he be aiming for, then? Echo says that he has to decide his own goal. Its gives Tidus something to think about: what does he really want? It doesn't take him long to reach the simple answer: to become the Warrior of Light and save Palamecia! (sigh.) In his enthusiasm, Tidus suggests to Wol that if they get separated, he can just whistle... which trips a memory of saying that same thing to Yuna in Spira. He's left somber by the memory, and he won't talk about it.

Just as well, because another trial appears: the plains are on fire! It's pretty clear that Palamecia is doing it again, forcing our heroes to overcome more obstacles. It's confusing and taxing, but the two get the job done, and put the fire out.

Throughout it all, Tidus just keeps on fighting, long after showing signs of fatigue. Echo and Wol both recommend that Tidus get some rest, or he'll burn himself out. It's dismaying, until Wol realizes that's the point: Tidus wants to burn himself out. He's not trying to get stronger or move forward in being the Warrior of Light, he wants to lose himself in battle. He wants to use battle to help him forget about Spira. Confronted with this, Tidus admits it's true.

Tidus is still unwilling to explain, but the conversation is cut short by the arrival of a trusted friend... from Spira! Not so friendly, though, as it attacks them. Wol leaps forward and defends against the creature, knocking it down, and in doing so seems to break it out of its aggression. It calls to Tidus, and when he meets the creature it explodes into a swarm of pyreflies... then the two of them vanish entirely.

In the void between the worlds, Tidus awakens, on the way to... somewhere else? There are pyreflies here, too, and they coalesce into the visage of Yuna, his partner from Spira. He reaches for her, but she doesn't respond. He whistles for her, like the two of them had agreed in a previous life, and the pyreflies separate again.

Tidus whites out, and awakes... floating in the sea, just off an island. He looks around, stunned. It looks like Spira. A blitzball hits him in the head, and he turns around to find Yuna standing at the shore.

Continued in Dream Within a Dream, Part 3.

Event Map
"'''FFX: Dream Within a Dream Episode 2: To Cornelia From the sleepless Zanarkand to Spira, then to the land of hope unbound, Tidus searches for meaning in being shunted from world to world... and finds it in aiming to become the Warrior of Light."

- World Map description

The region offers up a new extension: the Sphere Grid. As you traverse the region, you'll recieve Spheres as a reward, which you can use to enhance your stats and add extra Auto-Abilities. The fiends will get stronger to compensate for that, so be prepared for some heavy fighting! At the top of the region map is the button to go over to the Sphere Grid. Just under that is a gold button that brings up the current list of the sphere's you've collected, minus ones you've already activated on the Grid.

The region has three more trials to complete:
 * First, the Trial of Combat. Straightforward fights against strong enemies.
 * The Second offers a choice. There is the Trial of Skill, where you need to perform a few different exercises in controlled application of the elements:
 * Kill the listed number of fiends in one shot. Obviously you'll need a very good Area Effect ability, an Ultimate, or a Supreme Card. Set up the fiends so that it only takes one hit each to break them, so you can switch down the line, one after the other, leaving up to 7 broken before the first one recovers (or use an ability with Cleaving Attack to break them all at once), then wipe them all out at once.
 * Finish the area within a maximum of the listed number of attacks from the fiends. Crowd control is important here. You'll need to break all of them en masse, using something with Cleaving Attack again. Breaking one by one will NOT get you there.
 * Defeat the listed number of foes with the listed element. Each skirmish will have a swarm of foes that absorb that particular element, plus 1-3 others of some other element. You'll need to pick off the desired ones first (or last!) while being very careful to use specific elements on specific fiends. Area spells are NOT your friend here.
 * Alternatively, you can try the Trial of Fortitude. These are more straightforward fights, but it will take 3-4 runs on the area to clear the lock. These areas do have nice treasure chests, so they are worth clearing at least once to get the treasures.
 * Kill 100 fiends to advance. Any element, any way.
 * Break 100 fiends before killing them.
 * Kill 40 fiends with their elemental weakness. This includes elemental abilities and elemental-imbued normal attacks. Break state does not matter.
 * The event's return in 2020 reduced the number on these to a small fraction, so the Fortitude areas can now be finished in a single attempt.


 * The Third trial is a maze. The Trial of Flame is 2x2 grid, while the Trial of Perfervidity is a 3x3 grid. Each individual area is a simple, one-skirmish fight, but you must negotiate the areas in a specific path. Hit the right path, and you continue, or you finish the maze. Select the wrong path, and you must start that section over again. There's no indicator for the path, so you'll have to learn it hit-or-miss. Expect 2-5 attempts, unless you're very good at guessing.
 * No more guessing required! The 2020 return event now marks the correct trail in red! Follow it directly to your rewards. Also, the battles are gone, so you can traverse the whole thing in no time.

There are 58 areas in total, with 22 treasure chests.

Post-completion
Once the region has been cleared at the end of the Den of Pyreflies area, two bonus options open:
 * An extra area branch opens from the Runic Temple. Three levels have very specific high-end requirements, which open access to three "treasure" levels.


 * The boss levels gain new drops: Scroll cards for the Proud Cygnus ability card batch:

Key Items
These items are gathered to unlock spaces on the Sphere Grid.

Special Fiends

 * Vidatu / Aerouge
 * Fire Flan
 * Water Flan
 * Wind Flan
 * Earth Flan
 * White Flan
 * Black Flan

Reference

 * Mobius News page

Trivia

 * Music is from Final Fantasy X Remaster soundtrack: